Turbo-pump



May 27 1953 G. BANERlAN 2,836,123

TURBO-PUMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 4. 1955 INVENToR. Gonna/v BANER/A/v A770 EY G. BANERIAN TURBO-PUB! P May 27, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 4, 1955 1N VEN TOR. G ORDON BA NER/A /V A T TOZ/VE Y United States Patent O TURBO-PUMP Gordon Batterien, Monrovia, Calif., assigner to Aerojet- General Corporation, Azusa, Calif., a corporation of Ohio Application February 4, 1955, Serial No. 486,119

4 Claims. (Cl. 10S-87) This invention relates to turbine pumps and has for its principal object to provide a unitary turbulence turbopump which is capable of being driven by high temperature gases or liquids.

A related object of this invention is to provide a turbine pump having a single rotor in which the buckets of the rotor function as both the power driven elements and the pumping elements.

It is also an object of this invention a provide a turbine pump in which the turbine rotor is cooled by the fluid being pumped.

Turbo-pumps operating off of gases to pump liquids have been known for many years, however, heretofore such pumps have been limited to the use of relatively low temperature fluids for their operation because of the tendency of rotors to rupture and warp at high temperatures. Several solutions to this problem have been suggested, such as external cooling and injecting coolants. These solutions have in general been found to be unsatisfactory in view of the complexity of the equipment required as well as an overall decrease in eiciency of operation.

A feature of this invention resides in the use of a single rotor as both the impelling and the pumping means. By this arrangement the rotor is cooled directly by the fluid being pumped, without the use of complicated cooling apparatus and with relatively small loss in eliiciency. The turbine pump of this invention is capable of operating off of high temperature liquids ar gases such as those generated by rockets and jets. The foregoing and other features will be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure l is a section of the pump on the line 1 1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the turbine rotor and shaft;

Figure 4 is an external top View of the assembled turbulence turbine pump;

Figure 5 is an external side view of the assembled pump.

Referring to the drawings in detail: 16 is a peripheral housing member provided with an inlet port 17 and an outlet port 1S for the driving fluid, and an inlet port 19 and an outlet port 2li for the pumped liuid. Top and bottom housing sections 21 and 21a are bolted onto peripheral housing member 16 to form the turbine pump chamber. Alternatively, the housing and chamber members may be formed from two matching members.

Within the assembled housing on shaft 22 is mounted the turbine rotor 23 whose periphery is composed of a series of buckets of any desired form or configuration, The rotor is mounted rigidly on shaft 22 by splining or similar means. Mounted on the shaft on either side of the turbine rotor are, in order, thrust washers 24 and 24a, thrust collars 32 and 32a and sleeves 33 and 33a. Bearings such as ball bearings 34 and 34a are mounted at ice the ends of shaft 22, and the entire assembly heldin place within the housing by nuts 35 and 35a.

The inner faces of housing members 21 and 21a may be provided with :an annular groove, as illustrated, to receive tension providing means such as bellows 36 and 36a to maintain running face seals 37 and 37a in continuous contact with the turbine rotor. Running seals 37 and 37a may be composed of any relatively low friction material such as carbides, rubber, plastic, or the like.

In operation a driving gas or liquid under pressure is admitted from a suitable source (not shown) such as a gas generator, through inlet port 17 to expert force against the turbine rotor 23 which then rotates iu a clockwise manner (with reference to Figure l) thereby pumping the iluid to be pumped, which is admitted through port 19 and vforced out through port 20. The spent driving liquid or gas is then exhausted through port 18.

Although centrifugal force will ordinarily expel all of the gas or liquid entrained in the rotor buckets through exhaust ports 18 and 20, it may be desirable in some instances to provide some additional means to insure complete exhaustion of the spent lluid or gas. For this purpose, vents 38 and 38a may be provided to either the atmosphere or a low pressure source, as illustrated in Figure l. With reference to Figure l, the driven fluid is vented when a rotor bucket is open to vent 38a by virtue of the low external pressure. The driving uid is vented in a similar manner when a rotor bucket passes vent 33.

Running face seals 37 and 37a may be provided to compensate for poor tolerances in the rotor and the housing members so as to prevent commingling of uids or fluid and gas as well as loss of pressure.

The turbo-pump of this invention will operate equally well from either gas iu the driving side or liquid under pressure; however, some modication in porting dimensions may be necessary in order to obtain maximum eiliciency. These dimensions are in general a function of the velocity and density of the liquid or gas involved.

If it is desired to use the turbine pump in connection with extremely high temperature gases such as those obtained from rockets, jets, and the like, it may be desirable to provide a ceramic lining for the housing chamber as well as the rotor itself.

Although the eiciency of the pump itself is somewhat lower than that of conventional pumps now in use, the overall elliciency of the unitary turbo-pump of this invention, used in connection with very high temperature gases, will about equal that of conventional pumping means, although using fewer parts. ln addition, the use of a single rotor wheel of rugged design in a device of such simple construction provides a turbo-pump which is considerably less subject to operational malfunction.

The turbo-pump of this invention lends itself to convenient and economical manufacturing production inasmuch as the housing elements may be of cast materials and the turbine rotor either cast or milled.

An additional feature resides in the continuous cooling of the turbine rotor. The rotor is cooled continuously during the pumping phase by direct contact with the cooln ing liquid, and also during the impelling phase by. a residual boundary layer of the cooling fluid. However, if additional cooling is desired, conventional cooling means such as external cooling may be used to supplement this effect.

The turbo-pump of this invention is also readily adaptable for use as a prime power source either alone or in conjunction with the pumping function of the device. When used in this manner, the shaft 22 is simply extended to the outside of the pump housing and rotary power taken directly from the shaft. When used only as a source of power all inlets can be used to admit driving lluids. VThe prime mover portion of a turbo-pump of this type has theV ratios. ,Y Y

advantage 'over eonventional turbines of providing high eflicienciesl at -low I claim:

' 'f V1.? A turmien'fureepump fof 'anreisenbyV high en perature motive uids'which comprises in combination'a pumphousing, a turbine rotor within said housing whose 'periphery comprises a number of buckets, lixed with blade tip velocityV tol uidy f velocity assenze respect to said rotorand'adaptcd to both imperi and be impelled, at least two inlet and outlet ports insaid heus? ing and arcuate passages between said inlet andV outlet -ports in said-housing forming a circular race 4for said rotort Y i t A 2. A turbulence turbo-pumprfor operation by high tem-Y peratu're motive fluids whichl comprises in combinationV a pump housing, a turbinerotor rotatably mounted upon a shaft journaled at'both ends inY said housing, said rotoi` having, a periphery comprised of a pluralityV of buckets'V Xed with respect to said rotor and adapted to bothiinpel and be impelled, inlet and outlet ports in said housing `for driving uid, inlet and outletrportsvin said housing for iuidto be pumped and arcuate passages between said inlet and outlet ports in said housing forming a circular raceffor said rotor.

3. A turbulence turbo-pump comprising in combination a pump housing, a turbine rotor rotatably mounted upon a shaft journaled at both ends within said housing, said rotor having ai number of buckets disposed about its periphery adapted to both impel and be impelled, an annular race for said turbine rotor within said housing con1municating with an inlet and outlet port for a driving fluid and'V an inlet and outlet port for the fluid to bepumped, f Y

thereby forming separate passages for` said driving Yfluid Yand theuid being pumped,'and venting means provided between said driving uid inlet and pumped uid outlet, Y and between said driving fluid ,outletand said pumpedV uid inlet to avoid comminglingof the fluids. v

' 4; A turbulence turbo-pump comprising incombination i a pump housing, a turbine rotor rotatably mounted upon Y a shaft kjournaled at both ends within` said housing, said rotor having a-Ynum'ber of buckets disposed about its periphery adapted to both impeland be impelled, an annular t race for'said turbinerotor within, said housing commu-v nicating with an inlet and outlet port for a driving fluid and an inlet and outlet port for the fluid to be pumped, thereby forming separate passages for said driving uidandthe iluid being pumped, and one or more annular running face seals disposed against the face of the rotor within" the bucket periphery Vto prevent 'comminglirig of the driving fluidv andtlie uidbeing pumped.

References cited in the nie of this patent g UNITED STATES PATENTS VVg'iiel"V 1 Ian'. l5, 1'917'87' 1,296,356 Bey Mar. 1919 c, FOREIGN PATENTS i Y 362,768 Y Germany Nov. 1, V1922l 617,377V France Feb. 18; 1927 

